McCaffery-Supported SCORE-CDE JOBS Fund Grants $297,500 in June
SCORE-CDE is pleased to announce that four grant awards totaling $297,500 were made in June through its non-profit affiliate, the Joint-County Opportunity Benefit Support (JOBS) Fund. Awarded $45 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutes (CDFI) Fund in the 2017/2018 distribution round, SCORE seeks to invest in operating businesses and community education and healthcare facilities within highly distressed, low-income areas that have experienced a loss of skilled employment, educational achievement, and adequate access to goods and services. The JOBS Fund uses profits from SCORE’s NMTC activity to make grants and loans to organizations focused on economic growth and job training within these areas.
“We are proud to support these organizations that are providing education and assistance to individuals in areas of high-need,” said Angela Woolfolk, Executive Director of the JOBS Fund and SCORE-CDE. “The grants will deepen the impact these organizations have on their local communities through additional programming and volunteer training and allow each to broaden the positive influence they have on the community at large.”
Granted $97,500, The Second Helpings Culinary Job Training Program promotes productive citizenship and provides an opportunity for individuals to gain industry recognized skills and certifications upon which future successes can be built. Since 1998, the Culinary Job Training program has focused on serving unemployed and underemployed adults in and around the Indianapolis urban core that exhibit the greatest need. Funds from the grant will allow an additional thirteen students to participate in the transformative program.
Awarded $100,000, Hesed House is a 501c(3) under the Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) program dedicated to alleviating the plight of poor and homeless persons. Its mission is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and give people a chance to hope again. Funds from the grant will allow 50 individuals to participate in the Hesed Employment And Training (HEAT) team, a job readiness and training program which provides trial jobs to homeless persons so they can master the “soft skills” needed in the workplace.
Urban Growers Collective, Chicago
With a grant of $50,000, 40 individuals will be able to participate in Urban Growers Collective Farmers for Chicago Job-Readiness Program. Focused on teen education, transitional job training and farmer incubation on Chicago’s South and West sides, the initiative is rooted in sustainable urban agriculture, ecology and local community feed system development and serves 300 Chicago teens each year. Urban Growers Collective is one of the first community-based partners to join the Chicago Readiness Initiative and in addition to teen education, the organization also provides adult African American and Latino men with limited employment options a safe and engaging workforce experience in urban agriculture, horticulture and landscaping.
The Chicago Teacher’s Union Foundation
In its second award from JOBS, CTUF was granted the remaining $50,000 to continue its support of public education, teacher professional development, and community and apprenticeship programs through grant-making to community-based organizations.
ABOUT JOBS & SCORE-CDE
The JOBS Fund is a 501c(3) that supports job training, educational programming, childcare and other community benefit programs designed to support the health and welfare of low-income persons in low-income communities. A non-profit affiliate of the Chicago-based Southside Community Optimal Redevelopment Enterprise (SCORE) whose mission is to invest New Markets Tax Credits in operating businesses, community-driven education and healthcare facilities that provide living wage jobs in highly distressed, low-income communities in Illinois and Indiana, the JOBS Fund uses profits from SCORE’s NMTC activity to make grants and loans to organizations focused on economic growth and job training within these areas.
Sponsored by McCaffery Interests, SCORE aligns with the company’s founding mission to transform urban neighborhoods in ways that inspire community, create opportunities and foster the ideals of smart growth. Over the past 5 years, McCaffery nonprofit initiatives have invested $360.4 million and facilitated an additional $296.6 million of investments into urban revitalization efforts. More than 90% of these projects have been in disadvantaged communities. Learn more at SCORE-CDE.org.